THE HAGUE, Netherlands — June 01, 2026 : Airwayz’s OVERWATCH airspace governance platform has received official interoperability certification from NATO’s Communications and Information Agency (NCIA) after successfully participating in NATO’s Technical Interoperability Exercise (TIE 26), a major multinational counter-drone exercise held in the Netherlands.
The certification follows the platform’s role as the primary command and control (C2) system for “Team BRAVO,” where it integrated sensor and response systems from 13 countries into a single operational picture during live testing against simulated drone threats.
Held from May 11 to 22, 2026, at the Royal Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR) in Marknesse, TIE 26 is NATO’s principal exercise for evaluating interoperability among counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS). Organized by the NCIA, this year’s event brought together nearly 300 military personnel, technical specialists, and industry participants from 11 allied nations, alongside partner countries Australia and Ukraine.
The exercise focused on testing how military and commercial counter-drone systems can operate together in realistic operational conditions. More than 60 counter-drone systems and 40 command-and-control software applications from around 40 companies were evaluated during the 11-day event. The testing process reflected lessons from recent conflicts, particularly the growing role of small drones and the increasing complexity of countering unmanned threats in contested environments.
OVERWATCH Demonstrates Multi-Nation Integration
During the live performance challenge, OVERWATCH served as Team BRAVO’s central command-and-control platform and connected with 46 counter-drone nodes under NATO’s STANREC 4869 framework, a standardized recommendation for countering Class I unmanned aircraft systems, which include small tactical drones widely used in modern conflicts.
The integrated network included 31 Fusion Nodes, designed to combine information from multiple sensors, and 15 Edge Nodes, consisting of individual sensors and effectors operating at the tactical level. Through this structure, OVERWATCH combined data from systems that had not previously been integrated and generated a single Recognised Air Picture for operators.
According to Airwayz, the platform managed information from a wide range of technologies contributed by participating countries, including acoustic detection systems, passive radio-frequency sensing, radar systems, jammers, kinetic interceptors, and remote identification tools. The company said the level of interoperability achieved during the exercise demonstrated the platform’s ability to connect multiple systems rapidly under operational conditions.
SAPIENT Architecture and Command Capability
An important element of the certification process involved the platform’s performance within the SAPIENT architecture, short for Sensing for Asset Protection with Integrated Electronic Networked Technology. SAPIENT provides a common data language that allows sensors, effectors, and command systems developed by different manufacturers to exchange information without requiring custom software integration.
Beyond data sharing, OVERWATCH demonstrated direct SAPIENT Tasking capability during the exercise. This enabled the platform not only to receive and process sensor information but also to issue commands to response systems, allowing operators to coordinate mitigation measures through a single command layer.
Brigadier General (Res.) Yaron Rosen, Executive Chairman of Airwayz, said the results of TIE 26 demonstrated the operational importance of systems capable of processing large-scale drone activity and integrating multiple technologies under a unified command framework.
Operational Use Beyond Testing
The NATO certification builds on OVERWATCH’s operational deployment in civilian and security environments. The platform has been operating at the Port of Rotterdam for approximately three and a half years, where it supports the management of complex civilian airspace and coordinates more than 80 drone operations each day without interruption.
Airwayz said the platform has also been used in operational environments linked to security and conflict-related applications. In addition, OVERWATCH has supported live security exercises at large public events, including FIFA World Cup fan zones, where authorities require coordinated airspace monitoring and response capabilities.
Next Phase: Baltic Trust 2026
Successful validation at TIE 26 qualifies OVERWATCH for Baltic Trust 2026 (BATT26), a NATO operational field exercise scheduled for August 2026 in Latvia. The exercise is expected to focus on counter-drone preparedness and interoperability in NATO’s eastern region, where member states continue to strengthen defenses against unmanned aerial threats.
Participation in BATT26 will allow Airwayz to further demonstrate the platform’s capabilities to military commanders and operational planners seeking scalable systems capable of integrating technologies from multiple allied countries.
The certification achieved during TIE 26 highlights NATO’s broader emphasis on interoperable counter-drone systems that can connect sensors, command networks, and response tools within a common operational framework. As drone technologies continue to expand across civilian and military environments, alliance members are increasingly focusing on systems that support coordinated and standardized responses across different operational settings.
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